The first time we attended EQUIP’s Million Leaders Mandate (MLM) course at United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) studio in Stoke-on-Trent, we were impressed. (And it was free!)
The second time we attended we were more impressed.
The third time, you’ve guessed it, we were even more impressed. So much so, we had a thought: if only we could combine Willow’s first-class training with EQUIP’s first-class training for the churches we serve…
Fortunately, Willow and EQUIP have a long-established relationship, and so we picked up the phone and asked the question. An enthusiastic ‘go for it’ was the reply from VP Tom Atema. The second call was to Bill Partington, who with UCBs trademark generosity provided us with access to the video footage of the MLM sessions.
And so, armed with some of the finest leadership training available today, we began shaping the Developing Courageous Leaders ‘online’ programme.
It wasn’t an onerous task; the structure was already laid out perfectly in the MLM course by leadership expert John Maxwell himself. Our task, as we saw it, was to compliment EQUIP’s training with inspirational and devotional input from Willow.
Two months later the first module, ‘Today Matters’, was complete. Now we were ready to launch it.
We contacted several WCA members from different size churches and asked what value they would put on the combined EQUIP/Willow programme. Interestingly, £300 for a church-wide fee seemed to be the unanimous response. This approximated with our own evaluation, and we went ahead in February 2011 with Module One online.
To say that we were excited is an understatement. We were delighted and proud to be providing such high quality training at such a good rate for church-wide involvement.
And then we attended the EQUIP MLM training the fourth time.
We went in anticipation of more first-class training, excited to see a preview of what we would later be providing through DCL.
And once again, the EQUIP trainers delivered. It was exceptional.
But they delivered more. They shared stories of how MLM is impacting churches in under-resourced and ‘closed’ countries. It was compelling stuff and we were stirred by it. So much so, we had another thought: if only we could partner in this global impact by making the MLM free on the internet…
But we had already incorporated the MLM training into DCL as a fee-based programme. And there were the set-up and ongoing costs to consider.
But we still felt stirred.
So firstly, we called Tom Atema at EQUIP and double-checked that they didn’t already provide an internet solution for MLM. They didn’t. We then asked Tom how EQUIP would feel if we could figure out a way of providing it free online. Once again the reply came, ‘go for it!’
The obvious other question then had to be tackled: if we provide the MLM training free, what do we do with DCL?
After several discussions, we arrived at a solution. One which we felt would benefit WCA members, in which they could also be a benefit to others:
- By slightly increasing the cost of membership subscription (from £59 to £69), we could make the DCL programme a member benefit, whilst making the MLM component of it free to all internet users.
- In this way, WCA members receive a high quality course (DCL) for their own churches, whilst partnering in the funding of a global vision (MLM).
And so I encourage you to be a part of this very special leadership process, to learn it, to live it and pass it on to others.
You can read an overview of the DCL course here, capture the MLM vision in a short video here, and become a partner in the vision through WCA UK & Ireland membership here.
Graeme Paris
Executive Director
Willow Creek UK & Ireland
